For more than two decades, the Make-A-Wish Foundation® has been dedicated to enriching the lives of children through granting the wishes of those with life threatening illnesses. Although the Make-A-Wish Foundation has granted more than 150,000 wishes, its office showed no reflection of its uplifting mission, so it called on Lorenc+Yoo Design (LYD) to redesign its corporate headquarters to better portray its hopeful vision and inspirational history.
LYD added personality and color to the office, and illustrated some of the wishes that had been granted over the years, including a design of the first wish ever granted. In 1980, a seven-year-old leukemia patient dreamed of being an Arizona Highway Patrol man. The Make-A-Wish Foundation arranged for the boy to ride along in a helicopter and to earn his motorcycle wings by passing a test using a battery-operated motorcycle. To depict this wish, the lobby of the Make-A-Wish Foundation will have a replica of a highway patrol motorcycle.
The overall branding of the office space is encapsulated through the new “Wish Wall,” which consists of Andy Warhol-style images of children who have had wishes come true through Make-A-Wish. The wall depicts the headshots of the children in a variety of fun shapes and vibrant colors, and will continually remind employees and visitors of the many lives touched by the organization.
Beyond the lobby, the new design extends to include a remodeled café. The café will allow for more social space outside of traditional employee cubicles, and will create added open space throughout the workplace. The vibrant orange and green decor will brighten the office, with a new convenient central location that all can enjoy.
The new design concepts were donated in full by Lorenc+Yoo Design. “Make-A-Wish has enriched so many lives,” said Jan Lorenc, principal of Lorenc+Yoo Design. “It seemed natural for us to create a joyful, hopeful environment for those who create such wonderful and hopeful memories each day.”